1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bakery products, and more specifically this invention relates to dry powdered emulsifiers useful in the dough from which bakery products are made which enhance physical characteristics such as dough strength and/or crumb softness. The emulsifiers are particularly useful because they are powdered and are dispersible without the use of dispersing aids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to use additives in connection with the baking of various goods to provide improvement in the structural characteristics of the baked goods, such as grain, texture, softness and volume. Also, some additives improve the handling characteristics or machineability of the dough prepared for the baked goods. Such additives usually depend on the addition of an inert diluent or carrier for dispersibility. For example, saturated monoglycerides will emulsify fats and water and are widely used as crumb softeners in the baking industry. Compounds such as saturated succinylated monoglycerides are used as strengtheners, sometimes in combination with the crumb softeners. Saturated monoesters, however, are naturally repelled by water. Although these saturated monoesters can be powdered, they must be hydrated or mixed with low melting inert carriers (e.g., a fat) before they can be dispersed in dough. Hydration is normally by using a high-energy process to disperse very fine particles (e.g., about 1-10 microns) in water. The use of such inert carriers is undersirable for several obvious reasons. Handling of the potent, concentrated emulsifier is preferred to handling the diluted emulsifier. Also, flavor is often affected by carriers. In accordance with the present invention, the powdered emulsifier is readily dispersible in bread dough without the use of a carrier. It is very advantageous to be able to use the emulsifier in the dough rather than the sponge or brew, because a master batch of sponge or brew can be made up for use with different doughs required for different bakery products.
Conventional highly unsaturated monoglycerides, on the other hand, are soft, greasy, insoluble in water, and form a gel in water at room temperature. Thus, neither saturated nor conventional unsaturated monoglycerides has filled the need in the industry for a powdered, dispersible monoglyceride which is made up essentially entirely of active ingredients.
It is indeed surprising to find that certain mixtures of saturated and conventional unsaturated monoesters, or monoesters having a degree of unsaturation within a certain range (generally unsaturated monoesters which have been saturated to a certain iodine value) overcome the disadvantage of the prior art because they are essentially entirely active, powderable, free-flowing and dispersible.
Patents of interest in this field include U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,958 which deals with succinylated monoglyceride and its use in combination with other food emulsifiers in the presence of fats or oils used in baking. This patent suggest slurrying the succinylated monoglyceride in water in the presence of a coemulsifier. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,379,535 and 3,592,660 deal with conditioners for bread dough comprising monoglycerides and water. U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,771 relates to adding to emulsifiers a dispersion consisting essentially of (1) a conjointly solidified mixture of propylene glycol monostearate and a monoglyceride, (2) stearyl lactylic acid, and (3) water. This patent discloses that the components may be melted together to form a molten blend, which is then spray chilled to form a beadlet product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,965 deals with an emulsifier which contains not more than 60% of monoglycerides derived from a saturated fatty acid and monoglycerides derived from an unsaturated fatty acid. The remainder of the product is diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides derived from unsaturated edible vegetable oil. The product is described as a plastic of the consistency of hydrogenated vegetable oil, shortening or lard which is, of course, quite different from this invention. Also of interest is the article "The Staling of Bread--A Review" in the October, 1977, issue of "The Bakers Digest" published by the Siebel Publishing Company, Pontiac, Ill.
At present, commercially available emulsifiers include Myvatex 8-20 and 8-20E distilled monoglycerides with 20% by weight hydrogenated vegetable oil, products of Eastman Chemical Products, Inc. Although these products include both saturated and unsaturated monoglycerides, they exist in a dispersed state in 20% by weight hydrogenated vegetable oil or fat. Such a blend would be unsuitable for use in dough because the hydrated vegetable oil is high melting and prevents hydration of the monoglycerides by acting as a water barrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,907 relates to the use of a blend of a low iodine value monoglyceride and a lower monocarboxylic acid ester of a polyhydric alcohol in the preparation of yeast-raised baked products. The blend is in the form of a soft pasta or plastic. U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,999 relates to the use of a mixture of a saturated monoglyceride, an unsaturated monoglyceride, water, lecithin, and a triglyceride in bakery products. In contrast, the present invention provides an additive which is in the form of a powder.
The art mentioned above exemplifies the extent to which others have gone to in the past to provide monoglyceride emulsifiers which are easy to use and dispersible.